Local roundup -- Published March 22, 2008

Ja-Neil Bragg was better on Friday, but not quite good enough to become an All-American.

The Record

Ja-Neil Bragg was better on Friday, but not quite good enough to become an All-American.

The Pacific senior finished 25th in the 400-yard individual medley at the final NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships of her illustrious career.

Bragg posted a time of 4:15.49 in the preliminaries and didn't qualify for the final in Columbus, Ohio. She posted her career best time, 4:14.81, in November of 2007 at the Nike Cup.

"Today was a great swim for Ja-Neil. She finished 25th and just outside of All-American status," Pacific head coach Greg Meehan said.

"This performance is two seconds faster than she has ever been at the NCAA Championships and I am real proud of her effort."

Bragg finished 50th in the 200-yard individual medley on Thursday with a time of 2:02.63, which was short of her career-best 2:00.69.

Bragg was named the Big West's co-female athlete of the year in her freshman and sophomore seasons and qualified for the championships four times, but she never claimed a coveted top-16 All-American finish.

Bragg will now begin to train for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., in June.

At Billy Hebert Field, Jess Covarruvias went 2 for 3 with a triple and three RBI to lead the Yellowjackets (9-1) at the Stagg Tournament.

Stephen Lechner went 2 for 3 with a double and scored a run for the Eagles (4-2).

At Sacramento, Pacific dropped a doubleheader against Sacramento State for the first time in 13 years, losing 3-2 and 7-4 to the Hornets (18-11) at Shea Stadium.

Pacific senior Alyce Jorgensen had an RBI single to give the Tigers (18-18) a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Hornets scored twice in the bottom half.

In the nightcap, Pacific took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as sophomore Kellee Wilson, a West High graduate, hit an RBI double and later scored a run. The Hornets scored six runs over the next two innings.

At Chris Kjeldsen Pool, senior Virginia McConnell and freshman Dara Tawarahara scored three goals apiece for the Tigers (4-17) on senior day against the No. 13 Matadors (8-10).

Senior Jocelyn Gray finished with 16 saves in her final home match.

At Pacific, senior Pekka Seppanen finished with 27 kills to lead the Tigers (3-18) to a 30-24, 31-33, 30-23, 33-31 win over New Jersey Tech (9-10).